Lesson 39: Thanksgiving After Communion

Have you noticed? Pope Francis often sits in the back of the Church after morning Mass to make his time of thanksgiving, some ten minutes or so. This is an ancient and venerable custom based on the fact the sacramental reality of the Eucharistic presence of Jesus Christ remains in us for ten to fifteen minutes after we receive Him. In effect we are like living Tabernacles for that time period.

There are many beautiful prayers of thanksgiving for after Mass, some composed by saints like Thomas Aquinas or Bonaventure. What follows is the Universal Prayer attributed to Pope Clement XI. This just about sums it up:

Help me to repent of my past sins
And to resist temptation in the future.
Help me to rise above my human weaknesses
And to grow stronger as a Christian.

Let me love you, my Lord and my God,
And see myself as I really am:
A pilgrim in this world,
A Christian called to respect and love
All whose lives I touch,
Those under my authority,
My friends and my enemies.

Help me to conquer anger with gentleness,
Greed by generosity,
Apathy by fervor.
Help me to forget myself
And reach out toward others.

Make me prudent in planning,
Courageous in taking risks.
Make me patient in suffering, unassuming in prosperity.

Keep me, Lord, attentive at prayer,
Temperate in food and drink,
Diligent in my work,
Firm in my good intentions.